Call for Aasia Bibi`s release

KARACHI, Nov 25: Speakers at a protest demonstration held here on Thursday urged the government to immediately release Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy by a court in Punjab.

They said they would launch a countrywide protest campaign if their demand was not met.

Speaking at the demonstration organised by the Pakistan Minority Front (PMF) at the Karachi Press Club, they said that Aasia
Bibi had been framed in the case. They demanded that all the laws that were discriminatory towards any section of society be abolished as they were grossly misused to settle scores.

PMF chief and former MPA Micheal Javed said that these discriminatory laws were being used by vested interests to get properties of the minority communities.

He said that it was unfortunate that most such incidents occurred in Punjab where the minority communities had joined hands
with their brethren in the majority at the time of the creation of Pakistan.

A former MPA Atta Mohammad said that though the father of the nation had said that all citizens were equal in the eyes of the law, extremists had taken over the country and were harassing the minorities.He said that Aasia Bibi had been framed in the case.

Former MPA Bheru Lal said that properties of members of a minority community were being snatched from them, their religious places being taken over and their members being kidnapped for ransom routinely in the interior of Sindh.

Many of the minority community farmers were working as bonded labour at the farms of influential people, he added.

Ramesh Singh of the Sikh Naujawan Sabha said that one of their religious places, a gurdwara, had been converted into a school while many others were locked out.